Spite is All Around Us
by suburbankat
Summary: Peter and Juliet experience some...errrm...friction because of Mark.
1. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

Peter waited for a while as his new wife, Juliet, would come back with one of her pies. He loved her dearly. She was sweet, enchanting, charming, and beautiful, but she had a very odd taste in food. He hoped his wasn't rhubarb or horse radish pie, like she had brought last time. ...  
  
He looked at his watch. Where was she? She was going to stop by at Mark's to take a look at the wedding video, but he never thought it would've taken that long. Then again, it was Mark. He'd lose his head if it wasn't nailed on. Finally, he decided to watch The Office without her. He knew she'd be gutted, but what could he do? It was 10 o' clock and she was still out. ...  
  
"Sorry I took so long," Juliet finally stated, walking through the door with kind of an awkward smile, not the genuine smile she usually had.  
  
"Hello, hon. What took so long?" he replied, trying not to sound impatient. They did just get married.  
  
"Actually, Mark and I got acquainted. He's not a bad fellow once you get to know him. The tape was a little unusual though..." she stopped herself. She didn't want to hurt the love of her life.  
  
"How so, love?"  
  
"Well..." she tried to think of an answer on the spot... "Well the picture appeared but there was no sound," she lied, silently sighing with relief.  
  
Peter knew Juliet would help the matter. Mark was a very nice guy, but probably the most disorganized slob in all of Europe. Juliet, on the other hand, was extremely organized, with straight-A GSCE's and an accepted application to Cambridge in the fall. Peter wondered when first meeting her if she'd turn out a little stuck-up, but actually, she turned out a humble and kindhearted person.  
  
Juliet left into the room, thinking. She wondered if Mark hated her or loved her? If he hated her, would that trouble the best friend relationship between Mark and Peter? Suppose he loved her? She just got married, what would divorce look like at such an early time? She knew she was overreacting a little, as she paced back and forth, her heart beating. She needed to straighten out this mess. She needed to stop Mark.  
  
Peter paced around the kitchen, wondering if Juliet was really telling the truth about the film. She always had a little uncertain tone when she told a little white lie. "Damnit Peter, you're smarter than this! Juliet wouldn't do anything!" he tried to convince himself. But it was no use, she was up to something. Normally Peter wasn't a busybody, but in a matter such as this, he needed to take action. He loved Juliet, and if there was any chance of her getting hurt or her hurting someone else, he needed to stop it.  
  
WHATTA THINK? FIRST CHAPTER SO FAR SO IT KINDA SUCKS BUT HEY I'LL WORK ON IT, ACTUALLY. 


	2. Symbols, Songs, and a Matter of Pies

Peter drove to Mark's house, where he caught Mark sitting on his couch watching the video of the wedding. His eyes were a little watery, as if he wasn't quite sober. Peter knew that Mark drank as a way to ward off depression.  
"She told me about the tape," said Peter in a cool tone.  
"Ah, yes. With luck it turned out all right."  
Peter leaned in as he watched various shots of the wedding and memorable moments, realizing that Juliet was in a majority of the shots. He grabbed the remote and clicked stop.  
"What's the problem?"  
"Listen bastard, I don't know what you're trying to pull, but if you're going to hurt Juliet, you're going to have to get through me first!"  
"I don't understand...hurt her...what are you talking about?"  
"You know exactly what I'm talking about!  
"Why would I ever hurt anyone I love?!"  
Peter gasped. Mark was his best friend, and Juliet was his wife. If his best friend loved his wife, the mad pyramid of love would come into focus. He didn't want anything of that sort to happen. He loved both Juliet and Mark; he could not let them unite. Quickly he ejected the tape out of the player and stormed out the door, nearly smacking himself for allowing this to happen. He ran into the car, but as soon as he turned on the radio, he heard "Someday We'll Know," which was the song he and Juliet shared. Slowly he sang along, as he rode home, his face faltering. He couldn't face Juliet. She would hate him.  
Then he thought to himself as he pulled into a bakery. She couldn't hate him, she was the one who proposed to him, which is quite an unusual thing to do. He walked inside the bakery, walking up to the counter.  
"Hello, Peter," Sally said eagerly.  
"Hello, Sally, I just stopped by to pick up one of your delicious pies."  
"You don't have a strange taste as your Juliet does, do you?"  
He wanted so badly to once just get a cherry or a lemon meringue, something normal. But he couldn't, he wasn't doing this for him. He was doing it for Juliet.  
"Certainly I do. One curry pie, please."  
She wrinkled her nose for a bit and then smiled sheepishly. "Well...I guess we make them for a reason, eh?"  
He smiled awkwardly as he paid for the pie and took it. "Thank you."  
"Thank you."  
He thought that finally the problem would be solved... 


	3. The Popular Pain of Romance

Juliet outstretched her legs on the couch, and thought about Mark and Peter. Who would she belong to? She loved Peter, they were married. But she had a place in her heart for Mark as well. She knew that they were both incredibly nice and charming, but she knew she had to make a choice.  
Peter walked through the door with a pie. "I stopped by Sally's Bakery, got you a curry pie."  
"Thank you, Peter...wait, you couldn't be gone this long for a curry pie, could you?"  
Peter paused for a moment. "Actually, I saw Mark."  
"Hmm, what's new with him?"  
"Well..." he felt a lump in his throat..."I saw the tape he made. You seem to be in it a lot."  
"Yes...why does that matter?"  
Peter knew that if he didn't jump on the conversation, he and Juliet would be talking all night. "Wake up, Juliet! He loves you! He's mad about you! I've seen the way he looks at you!"  
Juliet was shocked. She twirled her blonde hair around her finger, as she often did when she was nervous. "He loves me?"  
"Yes. Yes, Juliet. He loves everything about you. He loves the way you walk, he loves your eyes, he even loves your mad taste in food. EVERYTHING!"  
Juliet couldn't take it anymore. She needed to get out. She headed toward the door, hoping Peter wouldn't notice. No such luck.  
"Where the hell are you going?"  
Juliet just said one simple word before she climbed into the car. "Out."  
She kept on driving, singing along to the radio. She never thought that she would ever walk out on her husband, but she needed some breathing space. She kept on driving, until she reached the beach. She walked up the pier, and was surprised to see Harry, her friend Jamie's cousin, walking along it, too. He had the same look on his face that she did: Hurt, confused, torn.  
"Hi, Harry."  
"Hello."  
They said at almost the exact same time, "What's wrong?"  
"You first," spoke Juliet.  
"My secretary is in love with me, and I'm a married man. I don't want to betray my wife, and I don't want to hurt either of them. You?"  
"My husband's friend is in love with me, and I'm a married woman. I don't want to betray my husband, and I don't want to hurt either of them."  
They laughed at the similarities. "There, I thought I was the only one with this sort of problem," Juliet explained.  
"I guess we all face it one time or another."  
"I guess so."  
"So who's this guy who loves you?"  
"Peter's friend Mark."  
"Mark? His heart was broken so many times I assumed he'd given up on love," Harry told her solemnly.  
"How do you know Mark?"  
"He's my nephew."  
Juliet smiled. Harry had about 20 nephews. Mark was bound to be related to him somehow.  
"Maybe you can help me then."  
"Sure, dear. What do you need help with?"  
"Mark took a wedding tape, and I was in every shot. It was almost surreal."  
"He loves you, all right. I'm sorry, but I'll have to tell you the truth: You have to confront Mark. Be brutally honest about how you feel, he'll understand."  
"God, I hope so."  
Juliet almost felt a lightning bolt beat her down. She didn't know how to be brutally honest. She was too afraid of coming across as mean. She didn't have the Harry talent, where he could be honest 24/7 and still be one of the nicest men in Europe... 


	4. Isn't Love Complicated?

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS EXTREMELY SHORT Disclaimer: Oh boy, this is my 4th chapter and I didn't put one up yet! Anyway, I don't own Love Actually or any of it's characters or actors blah blah blah...on with the story.  
  
Peter bit his nails out of trepidation as he opened up the door. Juliet came back with a small smile. She didn't want to cause any trouble, and neither did Peter.  
  
"Peter, I need to talk to you."  
  
"I'm listening."  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got you into this mess, and ruined the friendship between you and Mark."  
  
"Now wait..."  
  
"I'm not finished," she interrupted. "However, I have come to a decision. I am going to follow my instincts and keep my distance from Mark until the friction wears off. This also means, I'm going to have to keep my distance from you. I'm sorry, Peter, because I love you. But it may be more of a brotherly love than a soul mate love."  
  
Peter didn't say anything. He knew at that moment it was over. Juliet was kind enough not to let the words "I don't want to be with you" come out of her mouth. Though her intentions were good and polite, they were still heartbreaking. He started humming their tune in his head, wondering if someday he really would know.  
  
Juliet walked away good-naturedly. She never showed any sign of arrogance, because she knew Peter hated that. Juliet walked into her room and faced her bright pink pillow, which looked especially inviting. She needed something to relieve her of all this grief, so she tucked her face into the pillow and cried. Just then, her phone began to ring. How inconvenient; of all people, this time it had to be Mark. She screened her call.  
  
"Juliet, are you there? Okay, well, call me when you return. Best of luck. Bye."  
  
She unplugged the phone line, avoiding any apprehensive calls. Flashing back to her teenage years, she remembered that she always dreaming of falling in love. She never imagined she'd have to crash into it. Love was supposed to be a sexy, intense and adventurous experience, not a heart- breaking one. It didn't make sense. She began to cry again, wondering how she could have made such a foolish mistake. 


	5. Whatever Happened to Juliet?

Hey guys, whether you consider it a good thing or a bad thing, yes, I am alive! My computer went completely gay and I had to change the RAM and hard drive. Anyway, I'm back with more material…brace yourself.

Mark poured himself a glass of scotch as he paced around his kitchen. Why was Juliet avoiding him? Was he really that much of a jerk? He had a lump in his throat as if he dry-swallowed a giant pill. He didn't understand, he couldn't understand.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by the ring tone of his cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Mark, you have to come over here immediately!" ordered Peter into the phone. Mark shook his head.

"What has Juliet done now?"

"She was getting dangerously close to divorcing me not too long ago."

"Pete, I think you're being a little overdramatic."

Peter couldn't believe his ears. Mark was his best friend who had snuck behind his back with his newlywed, caused a split-up, and accused him of being overdramatic? This was way too much bullshit to deal with.

"Listen asshole, I know when Juliet's serious about something and when she's screwing around, and she was serious!

Just then, Peter heard the door open. It was Juliet, but it was not the Juliet he knew. His Juliet was full of spunk, but this Juliet was dark and desolate. Her skin was sallow and her eyes were red, and her slender frame looked overskeletal. He couldn't believe that this was the same Juliet he had known and loved for years. Worst of all, she had a cold expression on her face, the expression that only someone truly evil would have. She had lost it.

"PETER, GET OFF THAT FUCKING PHONE!" she screamed. Peter's jaw nearly dropped. He couldn't recall a time when Juliet had yelled so viciously, yet alone used obscene language. He was taken aback, and he felt as if he wanted to break down in tears. However, he kept his composure, because he wanted to once and for all show his complete respect for Juliet.

She glared at him in disbelief and hurt. How low could a man get as to gossip about her behind her back, and to his best friend who was in love with her nonetheless! She knew she was not acting like herself at all, and that she was really hurting Peter. But at the moment she could have cared less.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, SNEAKING BEHIND MY BACK LIKE THAT?"

"Juliet, I'm sorry if I hurt you…"

"Oh, save it. I don't give a damn whether you're sorry or not. You really hurt me and that's all there is to it. You've betrayed me."

"Juliet…"

"Leave me alone." And with that, Juliet closed the door. The minute she really was gone, he did break down in tears. On the other side of the house, she did the exact same.

AS YOU CAN SEE, THE CHAPTER WAS A BIT REDUNDANT, BUT I'M RUSTY. ANY SUGGESTIONS TO POLISH IT UP, PLEASE TELL ME!


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